Girls soccer | Public League final: Lane claims city title again with win over Young

May 12, 2011|By Joe Trost | Special to the Tribune

A Public League championship may have been a big thing for previous Lane girls soccer teams, but this year's squad has higher expectations.

"One of our goals was winning city," said midfielder Liceth Robles, whose team won its second consecutive Public League title Thursday with a 2-0 victory against Young. "But that wasn't our only or No. 1 goal. We know if we play to our full potential that we can do well in the state tournament."

If Robles and sophomore forward Jasmin Carrera (2 goals) play the way they did against the Dolphins (12-7-4), Lane (16-3-1) could be the first Public League girls soccer team to qualify for state since 2002, when the Public League last had an automatic bid.

Carrera (21 goals) scored less than five minutes in, and again with 14 seconds left. The shutout was the 14th of the season for Ana Hernandez.

"We kept the pressure on them the entire game, but we couldn't score again until the end," Carrera said. "We're playing well together right now, and that's good before the state tournament."

Young's backline, led by Adaobi Ekwueme and Danielle Schroeder, held its own in front of goalie Rachel Hobert, who came up with some big saves. Hobert stopped a Lane penalty kick in the first half, and Young failed to convert on one in the second half.

"Lane is a talented team, but we stayed with them," Ekwueme said. "We kept trying to knock them off the ball when we could, and it worked most of the game."